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July 6, 2021

Mercury Fuel notifies state of layoffs ahead of planned sale

PHOTO | Courtesy Mercury Fuel
By Michelle Tuccitto Sullo

Waterbury-based Mercury Fuel Service Inc. has notified the state that 112 staff positions will be impacted by its planned September sale of a portion of the company’s assets.

On July 1, Mercury Fuel filed a Worker Adjustment & Retraining Notification Act (WARN) notice with the state Department of Labor.

According to the notice, the impacted employees hold a range of positions, such as cashiers, tanker drivers, store managers and maintenance staff.

The sale of a portion of Mercury Fuel's assets is expected to close as of Sept. 3, according to the notice.

President Michael Devino indicated in the notice that any separations will occur on Sept. 3 or within two weeks afterward.

It was unclear Tuesday whether the new ownership plans to hire any of the employees impacted by the sale. Devino did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Back in March, British gas station and fast food retailer EG Group entered into an agreement to buy nine of Mercury Fuel’s convenience stores and rebrand them as Cumberland Farms locations.

Mercury Fuel's WARN notice does not specify whether it is related to the EG deal or another pending sale.

Sean Hennessey, a media spokesperson with EG America, said via email Tuesday that the impending separation of Mercury Fuel Service employees "is not related to EG America’s purchase of the Mercury locations."

According to its website, Mercury Fuel owns 23 gas stations and convenience stores around Connecticut, including locations in New Haven, Old Saybrook, West Haven, Waterbury and Cheshire. Many operate under the Mercury Price Cutter name, with others operating as Mercury Sunoco, Mobil, Gulf and Hess stations.

Hennessey said EG America finalized the sale of seven stores last month, and it will transform the locations in Cheshire, Winsted, Old Saybrook, Newington, Wethersfield, Westport and East Windsor into Cumberland Farms stores.

"All Mercury store level personnel (cashiers/managers) were given the opportunity to remain employed at these converted locations," Hennessey said. "Any former Mercury employee who wished to continue employment and who passed a background check was immediately rehired as a Cumberland Farms employee."

Mercury Fuel didn’t indicate which locations will be impacted by the upcoming sale in September.

In 2019 EG America established its new national headquarters in Westborough, Mass. The company has more than 1,600 stores around the country, including Cumberland Farms, Turkey Hill, Kwik Shop, Loaf ’N Jug, Tom Thumb, Quik Stop, Minit Mart, Fastrac and Certified Oil, according to its website. Its parent company is EG Group, located in Blackburn, England.

Contact Michelle Tuccitto Sullo at msullo@newhavenbiz.com.

This story has been updated to include comments from EG America spokesman Sean Hennessey.

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